In the News

April 2021

Canada’s Telesat takes on Musk and Bezos in space race to provide fast broadband

Telesat’s first launch is planned in early 2023, while there are already some 1,200 of Musk’s Starlink satellites in orbit. “Starlink is going to be in service much sooner … and that gives SpaceX the opportunity to win customers,” said Caleb Henry, a senior analyst at Quilty Analytics. Read More

Former NASA chief Jim Bridenstine joins satellite internet firm Viasat’s board

“NASA obviously cares a great deal about preserving access to space, so Bridenstine’s insight could help Viasat craft arguments about space sustainability that carry increased weight on Capitol Hill,” said Caleb Henry, a satellite industry analyst at Quilty Analytics. Bridenstine’s experience leading NASA, Henry said, could help Viasat take a plunge into the civil space market if it wants to, like providing communications for deep space exploration activities. Read More

March 2021

Can You Still Spell Space Without SPAC?

Chris Quilty and Just Cadman, who lead Quilty Analytics, comment on the latest trends in space financing, including Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) that have suddenly become one of the hottest investment vehicles for emerging space companies. Read More

February 2021

L3Harris leaped from tracking weather to tracking missiles, cracking a competitive field

Chris Quilty, founder and a partner of Quilty Analytics, said L3Harris has accomplished “a remarkable string of contract successes” since it entered the satellite manufacturing business only a few years ago, noting an Air Force remote sensing constellation award, among others. ”The fact that SDA awarded this contract to L3Harris is both a testament to L3Harris’ agility and an indication of SDA’s desire to open the aperture to new suppliers,” said Quilty, whose financial and strategic firm serves the space industry. Read More

What’s behind SpaceX’s $74 billion valuation: Elon Musk’s two ‘Manhattan Projects’

The investor demand stems from its Starship and Starlink projects, Quilty Analytics founder Chris Quilty explained, which he described as “two Manhattan Projects running in parallel.” Quilty runs a boutique research and investment firm focused on the satellite communications sector, which he established after leading Raymond James’ coverage of the space industry for 20 years. Read More

January 2021

SPAC Interview with Chris Quilty

“The industry got a lucky break this year with the C-band orders,” said Chris Quilty, president of Quilty Analytics. The market for commercial geostationary communications satellites was already in flux prior to the pandemic due to technological innovation and new satellite communications constellations. Read More

Sirius XM Says Its New Satellite has Malfunctioned

Maxar and its subsidiaries have “almost an unblemished record over 40 years of having no satellite failures on orbit,” Quilty said. Some observers, however, will wonder if recent changes and cuts in the workforce at Maxar’s space operations contributed to the failure, he said. “When it was going through the testing phase, they discovered a performance [problem] … but apparently they didn’t totally fix it,” Quilty said. He said Maxar wound up paying millions more in the attempt to fix the issue. Read More

What to Expect from Cathy Wood’s Ark Invest ARKX Space ETF

Read what Chris Quilty has to say on the Ark Invest ARKX ETF. Read More

Elon Musk’s Shot at Amazon Flares Monthslong Fight Over Billionares’ Orbital Real Estate

“If you are going to put up and basically claim an entire sphere around the earth, then you’re gonna generate a lot more attention and discussion,” said Caleb Henry, a senior analyst at satellite research firm Quilty Analytics. “Because everyone has to know how to operate with respect to that layer of satellites that you put.” Read More

Thursday Morning Conversation with Caleb Henry

In 2013, we took on a young editor for Via Satellite with high hopes. Fast forward just over seven years later, Caleb Henry has established himself as one of the best in the business, and recently joined Quilty Analytics. In a special Thursday Morning Conversation, I talk to Caleb about everything from hip-hop, video games (of which I am clearly an expert), to the current state of the satellite industry. Read More

October 2020

C-band bonanza bails out sluggish year for satellite orders

OneWeb is flying into a financial asteroid field

That infusion is probably insufficient for Steckel’s first job of completing the constellation. Each satellite costs $1 million to build, while research firm Quilty Analytics estimates the price of each launch at roughly $1.5 million. Just getting the rest of its satellites into orbit could therefore set OneWeb back up to $1.4 billion, not including the cost of its ground operations. The UK government is unlikely to invest more, according to two people familiar with the matter, though outside investors may inject fresh equity. Read More